Manga Lover

Manga Lover
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Misumi
マンガラバー
(Manga Rabā)
Genre
Manga
Written byKo Fumimura
Published byKodansha
English publisherKodansha USA
ImprintAfternoon KC
MagazineMonthly Afternoon
Original runApril 24, 2025 – present
Volumes3
icon Anime and manga portal

Manga Lover (Japanese: マンガラバー, Hepburn: Manga Rabā) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ko Fumimura. It began serialization in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon in April 2025. Its chapters have been collected in three tankōbon volumes as of July 2026.

Plot

After interviewing several Toyoko kids in the Kabukichō district of Shinjuku for research, manga editor Hiroki Yanai is approached by a homeless girl named Misumi who is insistent on showing him her manuscripts, leading them to a small space in a manga cafe where she works. Doubting her competence and not wanting to upset her, Yanai asks Misumi to submit her work to his publisher's office and leaves. The next day at the office, Yanai encounters Misumi waiting in the lobby with her manuscripts, completely redrawn from scratch overnight. Reading it alone, Yanai is left emotionally moved by her work. Sometime later, Yanai meets Misumi at the cafe, offering to become her editor and give whatever she needs to begin as a manga artist, including paying for her own home. Misumi insists on living in his apartment instead; as she starts on her new career, her eccentric, audacious personality and goals begin to upend Yanai's neat and orderly life as he learns just what it takes to be an ambitious manga artist.

Characters

Hiroki Yanai (柳井 博己, Yanai Hiroki)
A manga editor for Monthly Top, a seinen manga magazine. He has worked there for three years. He has exceptional persuasive skills to woo both successful and newcomer manga artists, while maintaining high standards. To him, a manga that does not sell well is meaningless.
Misumi (美澄)
A young woman who is extremely dedicated as a manga artist. She lost her parents at a young age from a traffic accident, forcing her to live with her grandmother. After her grandmother's death, she spent a year homeless in Kabukichō where she self-taught herself to draw manga in a manga cafe, while working part-time as a housekeeper at a hotel. Her art style is noted to be rough and sketchy akin to indie comics, but emotionally moving.
Mori (森)
A manga assistant. He is a childhood friend to Yanai.
Imahashi (今橋)
A manga editor for Monthly Top. He is in his first year on the job, and looks up to Yanai.

Publication

Written and illustrated by Ko Fumimura, Manga Lover began serialization in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon on April 24, 2025. Kodansha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes, with the first volume released on October 23, 2025. As of July 22, 2026, three volumes have been released.

During their panel at Anime Expo 2026, Kodansha USA announced that it had licensed the manga for English publication, with the first volume set to release in Q2 2027.

Volumes

No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1October 23, 2025978-4-06-540581-9June 1, 2027978-1-64729-658-2
2March 23, 2026978-4-06-542856-6——
3July 22, 2026978-4-06-544219-7——

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Manga Lover 1". Penguin Random House. Archived from the original on October 22, 2026. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  2. ↑ "二世"の下剋上バレー譚&トー横少女×編集者のマンガ創作物語、アフタヌーン新連載. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. April 24, 2025. Archived from the original on September 14, 2026. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  3. ↑ トー横で出会ったマンガ家志望の少女と編集者が、"おもしろい"のために人生を燃やす. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. October 23, 2025. Archived from the original on October 22, 2026. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  4. 1 2 【2026年7月22日】本日発売のマンガ単行本リスト 「宇宙兄弟」46巻ほか. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. July 22, 2026. Archived from the original on July 22, 2026. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  5. ↑ Mateo, Alex (July 2, 2026). "Kodansha USA Announces Print Releases for Phoenix, Witch Hat Atelier: Special Stories, Historié, Fatale Game, More Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 3, 2026. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Kodansha Reveals Spring 2027 New Print Licenses at Anime Expo" (Press release). Kodansha USA. July 2, 2026. Archived from the original on July 3, 2026. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  7. ↑ 【10月23日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. October 23, 2025. Archived from the original on September 9, 2026. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  8. ↑ 【2026年3月23日】本日発売のマンガ単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 23, 2026. Archived from the original on April 23, 2026. Retrieved October 21, 2026.